Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you there’s something you’d like to comment on in Elgin or beyond, send an email to ksorensen@tribpub.com. Please include “speak out” in the subject line.

Rittenhouse’s ‘innocence’: What do you call a 17-year-old punk with an assault weapon walking brazenly through a small Midwestern town looking for trouble and shooting at bystanders? If it’s Kyle Rittenhouse, you call that person innocent.

Sentence an insult: Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman domestic terrorist who wore a Viking hat with fur and horns, was considered by many as the public face of the Capitol riots. Sad to say, this insurrectionist was just sentenced to a paltry 41 months in federal prison. This light sentence is a sham for someone who took a lead role in an attempt to overthrow our government and destroy American democracy. The sentence is an insult and dishonors the five people who died during and after the Capitol riots.

Could explain a lot: After looking at Bears coach Matt Nagy’s picture constantly in the papers with the visor cap, I wonder if he sleeps with it on. Maybe it’s eating into his brain and affecting his coaching ability. Get rid of him.

Unstable politicians? The Republicans are attracting some unstable candidates. A few stand out. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, who constantly spreads the big lie, and other conspiracy theorists. Then she goes home and raises thousands of dollars to fill her campaign chest. Then there is fruitcake Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, whose family has turned against him. He recently posted a cartoon showing him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Selfish gain for traitor pols: One Speak Out commenter thought it was fine for the few GOP representatives to bolt from their party’s position and vote for Biden’s multitrillion, hugely pork-filled infrastructure bill. These representatives only thought of the benefits to their particular districts or state. They didn’t care and gave no thought how little the bill’s wordage actually dealt with infrastructure or negatively affected the entire nation and future generations.

Makes no sense: A newspaper article recently stated President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure comes with a built-in promise: No longer will roads, bridges and railways be instruments of bias or racism. What? Roads, bridges and railways instruments of bias or racism? How can an inanimate object be biased? It’s no wonder Biden’s ratings are falling off the charts.